Tamim’s retirement saga shows why BCB must change

Before he made a dramatic U-turn on Friday, the tear-soaked, shocking retirement announcement of Bangladesh cricket's leading scorer, Tamim Iqbal, had left fans across the cricket-loving nation speechless. This also, once again, brought to fore the seemingly incurable rot at the core of Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB). The fact remains that the BCB is in tatters – with the one-man rule of the current president, and his high-handed management style, along with the management's unconcealed disrespect for the cricketers – and little has been done over the years to address this.

The BCB management is apparently democratically elected, but the system seems totally undemocratic, where players who are under the board's contract are treated with little to no respect by the management. And in a system that operates with seemingly no concrete long-term vision and is mired in various controversies, the mental health of the players, unsurprisingly, takes a back seat. Tamim Iqbal's decision to retire – which he has since withdrawn at the behest of the prime minister – is a manifestation of this dysfunctional system.

The current BCB management (under the aegis of its three-term president Nazmul Hassan Papon) has done little to create a conducive environment where players can grow and thrive. Rather, the president himself, through his shenanigans and irresponsible comments before the media, has nurtured a culture of mistrust and controversies, with complete disregard for how this would affect the players' mindset and team performance.

While this time around the prime minister herself has intervened to ensure that Tamim will be back on the field, this is only a stop-gap measure. What cricket in Bangladesh needs right now are not curative but preventive measures that will have a lasting impact on the growth of the game.

For instance, in February, the BCB chief openly commented about a rift between Tamim Iqbal and Shakib Al Hasan, which according to him had been so bad that they did not even talk to each other. While, in a span of two days, Papon took a U-turn on his statement, the question remains: how could the BCB allow the situation surrounding two top performers of the team to deteriorate to such an extent?

In hindsight, the BCB modus operandi, when it comes to players, seems to have become one of conflict and suppression. The struggles of Mashrafe Bin Mortaza, Tamim Iqbal, Mushfiqur Rahim, and Shakib al Hasan in dealing with the BCB made headlines constantly, and the never-ending controversies persist while the management is not held accountable for enabling the gradual decay of the state of the game.

Tamim Iqbal perhaps did not take the decision to retire overnight. There had been constant tension between him and coach Chandika Hathurusingha – who had resigned once in 2017 after alleged conflict and tension with senior players – over various issues, along with the board. The BCB management did not do anything to diffuse the tension. Rather, as usual, the president appeared before the media before the match with Afghanistan and blurted out how Hathurusingha was unhappy with Tamim's statement about his fitness and "shouted" on the phone with Papon, and slammed Tamim himself for it. But how was it helpful for the team? Eventually, they lost the match.

Also, one would be tempted to ask, why bring back a coach whose first term had ended on a controversial note, who apparently did not even bother to provide specific reasons for this decision, and who also had a tense relationship with the players? Based on which specific merits was Hathurusingha reappointed? Could no one else fit the bill?

Whatever the BCB management thinks about its own performance, it is obvious that the players and fans are unhappy with how things are, and that a change in the BCB system has become the need of the hour in order for the team to be able to focus on the game, rather than on management politics.

But why blame the BCB alone? The media has also been highly irresponsible at times in putting additional pressure on players, slandering them on days when their performance was not up to the mark, magnifying the slightest lapses, even finding far-fetched personal angles to "explain" professional mishaps, thus creating sensationalised news.

The passionate cricket fans, too, remain ever-insensitive to the sentiments of the players, hailing them for their brilliant performance one moment, and burning their effigies for failures in the next.

Their mental health and wellbeing remain unacknowledged in the cricketing scene of the country. At least, the BCB seems to be unaware of this reality, given how both Papon and director Khaled Mahmud made unnecessary fuss when, last year, Shakib Al Hasan wanted to take a break from international cricket citing mental health reasons. While former Bangladesh head coach Russell Domingo did try to create an open environment and safe space for players to talk about their mental health, nothing much seems to have changed.

Last year, Papon did say that psychologists would be made available to cricketers to overcome mental health concerns, but the BCB's approach itself is enough to give players anxiety and depression. The rough way in which even stalwarts like Tamim and Shakib are handled speaks volumes about the overall mistreatment of players by the BCB.

While this time around the prime minister herself has intervened to ensure that Tamim will be back on the field, this is only a stop-gap measure. What cricket in Bangladesh needs right now are not curative but preventive measures that will have a lasting impact on the growth of the game.

To start, the BCB needs thorough restructuring, stringent implementation of governance and a code of business conduct. The management needs to be held accountable for its actions, and it needs to create an environment that promotes healthy discussions and de-stigmatises mental health concerns, while providing enough space for players to focus on both personal and team development.

As representatives of the media and cricket fans, we should also learn to show respect to the players, their wellbeing – both physical and mental – and draw the line that should not be crossed.

Tasneem Tayeb is a columnist for The Daily Star. Her Twitter handle is @tasneem_tayeb